In God We Trust
by HideyoMitsuno98
Summary: Two young women find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of disaster. Their faith remains solid, but their relationships are shaken by far more than Loki's cruel sense of humor.
1. Chapter 1

In difficulties, God's presence cannot possibly become more obvious. His strength, His wisdom, and His love pull me close and never let go.

But the only thing I feel holding me close right now is an arm as thick as a tree trunk pinning me against my hotel door.

"Who are you working for!?"

He's very tall; dark hair, dark skin, angry eyes. Tattoos lace up his forearm, and a brutal-looking snake disappears beneath his gray t-shirt.

"I don't work for anyone; I'm a writer." I reply, "Besides that, my boyfriend happens to be incredibly rich so I don't even have to work if I don't want to. Not that I use him for his money-!"

"I said who are you working for!? You know what I mean!"

His breath smells like cheap cigarettes and gas station coffee, along with underlying morning breath.

I smell a creature of habit.

HA!

Literally.

I'm so funny.

"I really, really don't." I answer, "I don't work for anyone."

"You're lying!" he shrieks, and he pushes me hard against the wall. Nowhere I can go. The air huffs from my lungs and I skid a few inches against the wall.

"Ouch." I mutter, "Well, my friend, I'm gonna ask you to leave, please. I'm also gonna ask why you're after me."

"Y'know, lady, the less you know the better." he replies, stomping over to the window.

"Y'know, _sweetheart_ , the more you talk, the better. If you're guilty, fine. Kill me now, get over with it. If not? I can help you."

"Yeah right." he chuckles humorlessly.

"I can. My best friend's boyfriend is one of the most powerful people in the country."

"How would I know you ain't lyin'?" he demands, and out comes a gun.

"How else could I get a room in a luxury hotel with a flashing 'no vacancy' sign? Only people who have their hands in too many cookie jars could have pulled that off."

"Why ain't you afraid of me!?" he shouts, and I do flinch at that.

"Well, because you're a person." I snap, "And I'm not afraid of people in general."

"What-"

"Hey! I think this young lady has had quite enough harassment for one day."

The man and I look to the doorway and we see Captain America, the hero trapped in time, the first Avenger, the super soldier born of science, the-

"Alfred, weren't you in the midst of rescuing me?" I point out, breaking the poor guy's excited announcement, because no, no, he really isn't Captain America, though the two could be twins, at least in appearance and physical ability.

"Oh yeah." he says quickly, and he adopts a fighting stance, legs slightly apart and bent at the knee, ready to take any impact. "I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

"Been there, done that." I mutter, crossing my arms.

"You ain't a superhero." says my assailant, "You just a wannabe teenager."

"Gee, thanks for stating the glaringly obvious and smashing down the barrier of my imagination to crush my hopes and dreams!" cries Alfred, throwing his hands down, his whole posture falling sadly, "Just go away!"

"Man, you crazy! You don't know who you're pickin' a fight with for this white chick! I'm outta here, this is crazy." The man shakes his head and pushes past me, aiming to shove past Alfred, too, though the very crazy kid solidifies his stance and effectively brings the hulking (LOL, that Marvel pun tho!) man to a halt.

"Man, you don't know how far I would go for her, or who I would pick fights with. Gimme Nick Fury himself and I'd put him in his place."

"I don't know what the heck you're talking about! Let me through!"

Then they struggle a little, shuffle back and forth a bit I guess (I kinda notice Autumn walk around the corner in the hall outside the room), then the gun goes off, the black guy runs, and Alfred falls to his knees, clutching his chest.

"I'VE BEEN SHOT!" he screams, throwing his hands out and falling back against Autumn dramatically, tears streaking his cheeks.

"Yeah, sure, and I'm the queen." says Arthur, appearing after having followed Autumn, "I keep telling you to eat more neatly. How will your drycleaner get that nasty tomato sauce stain out of that...remarkably ridiculous getup?"

"It's not ridiculous! Thanks for being the second person to crush my dreams today!" replies the hero, wiping his teary eyes.

"Get over it, Alfred." laughs Autumn, "I have something to boost your spirits."

"Like what?" pouts the wannabe.

"Like backstage passes into S.H.I.E.L.D."

~o0o~

"OHMYGOSH IT'S THE JARVIS DUDE THINGYMERBLOB!"

"Yes, that would be me. Only not me. I am a very complex creation."

"Yeah, yeah, don't get all caught up with your whole god complex, Vision." I say, "That'll lose any favor you have with me, which is actually a ridiculously large amount. I think you're neat."

Vision gives me a light, almost grateful, almost humble nod.

Then Alfred lets out a squeal that would rival that of a three year old being gifted a unicorn.

"It's him, it's him, it's really him! Oh my gosh, I'm freaking out."

Indeed so.

Totally not obvious.

Because the one and only Captain America, the real deal, walked into the room, speaking heatedly to the one and only Tony Stark, followed closely by the Asgardian, Thor, who has Black Widow and Hawkeye in tow. Good grief, the whole team.

Well.

'Cept for Banner.

But he was promised to make his entrance at a later point.

And I am grateful for that. Alfred would probably be stupid and work the poor guy up and then there would be a huge mess that, frankly, would be all his fault. And then we'd have to leave and probably never be invited back.

Such is the world in this day and age.

-.-

At first, Cap doesn't even notice us; in fact, Tony saw us first and tried to point out our presence to the seething captain. Alfred doesn't seem to care who notices us first.

He's just excited to be here, as we all are (except for Britain, possibly, but he notices the two spies and decides to take his chances with small talk. Spying is kinda his thing).

Cap's anger wanes when he does finally realize that there are people staring, and his 40s' courtesy kicks in. He offers a hand to Alfred, who takes it and shakes it, once, twice, thrice, then lets go, a moment away from being awkward.

"Gosh, Captain, what an honor." he says, surprisingly poised.

Then, sadly, he starts to babble.

"You remember the time you took out the German camp in '43? I funded that for you and your battalion. And, and, and, the time in New York? I mean, recently? I watched you from afar, and might I say it, you've got razor precision in the battlefield. I couldn't have picked a soldier more wisely myself. But I do pay for you and golly, are you spendy. Not as expensive as my girlfriend... HA, just kidding, you cost me millions."

Captain America looks at the fanboy, then to Tony, who gives a light shrug and laughs at the soldier.

Autumn decides to busy herself and join in Arthur's and the spies' conversation, leaving me to my own devices to find something to do.

Honestly, I don't know where my boyfriend is, but boy would he be jealous if he saw the way Tony looked at me and Autumn. Supposedly Pepper and he didn't work out too well and, while he wasn't a playboy anymore, throwing his money, body, and morals around, it didn't mean he wasn't interested in a couple young women that stopped by for no apparent reason.

And since Autumn busied herself with some random mathematical (or were they talking physics?) thingy with the other nerrrrrrds, Tony steps over to me and asks me what I do for a living.

" 'Living'?" I laugh at that, "Tony Stark, multi-billionaire, asking a starving artist what her art is."

"I happen to love art." he says, scratching behind his ear, a teasing grin on his face.

"I'm a writer." I tell him, "Novels."

"You could be my biographer."

"Riiiight." I say, smiling, "What was it you said would be the name of that..? 'Cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner'?"

"Gosh, that was a long time ago."

"Just a year and a half. News spreads like wildfire, especially when a multi-billionaire superhero is involved, and the internet keeps it well-alive." I say.

"Superhero?"

"Yes; kinda nice to have someone actually say it, huh?"

"Ehh." Tony shrugs, and grins at me again, "It doesn't really fit me."

"Sure."

Despite Tony not saying much yet, Francis is getting a run for his money. Tony's years of 'experience' have paid off in one way or another, and I'm a bit disappointed that I'm so easily wooed.

"So, Mr. Stark, what sort of payment would you be willing to give for me to type up your life?"

"I'd give you a tour of the Iron Man suit and take you for a spin. Whaddaya say?"

"You really find me so cheap?" I teasingly chastise, "You'd have to give me the whole suit, not just a tour and a ride. I mean, biographies, especially ones that have been commissioned, take a lot of effort and hours. I'm asking for at least a million bucks. I'd have to dig up details I don't wanna dig up, details /you/ don't want dug up, details S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't want dug up, and so on and so forth."

"All right, all right, I get it." replies Tony, that flirtatious smile still on his face, "I won't ask for any favors."

And he doesn't.

Until a monster of a call comes in, telling the team that Loki is back and looking for revenge.

Then I'm, like, almost as useful as Hawkeye.

XD What a mean joke, LOL!

Wait.

I just roasted myself, never mind.


	2. Chapter 2

"So are we part of the Avengers now?" I ask, looking at the massively fanboying Alfred staring at Captain America's every move.

"Sure thing, Goldilocks." mutters Clint, poking around his bow, "It isn't as fun as it sounds."

I shrug at Autumn, who snorts.

"Saving the world is in our job description, too." she says lightly, and it's my turn to grin.

"Oh?"

"Jarvis says you don't work." says Tony, his voice ringing metallically under his mask.

"I work." I pout, putting the earpiece into my ear, because apparently, we're just important enough to need communications open with the team, "I'm a writer; I already told you that."

"I work." says Autumn, "I babysit him." She points to Alfred, who fell flat on his face because he was watching Cap instead of where he was stepping.

I laugh and nod. "It's a legit work position; takes a lot of patience."

"But really, how do you save the world?"

"One person at a time." Autumn and I say in sync.

No one replies.

Oh, well.

Then something cool happens. Our earpieces buzz to life and none other than Nick Fury gets on the line.

"All right, guys, you'd better not be rusty, 'cause the only help I'm givin' is advice."

"Sounds decent." I say with a chuckle, not remembering he can hear me.

"Well, I'm not ready to lose all my men again. SWAT and the NYPD can go in, guns blazin', but not me; not this time. Surprisingly, I've got bigger fish to fry than Loki this time."

"That sounds unlikely." comments Autumn, and Alfred nods.

"SHIELD is a worldwide organization. I don't have time to focus my resources here when the Avengers are already on it."

"I ain't gonna argue, but what is more important than Loki and, like, alien unicorns?"

"Unicorns?"

"Back to the problem at hand, you guys. People are panicking and every wasted moment is gonna cost us lives." says the captain, and Iron Man looks up the street.

"Yup, and it's probably going to be ours. Twenty or so incoming."

"Stark, you take the girls up; get them safe." says Steve, "Hawkeye, Black Widow, get to the civilians, and Banner, stop the flow."

Banner?

But he wasn't here-

And then, with a roar, he suddenly was. Huge, green, and angry. Scared the crap out of me and Autumn, but the bigger surprise was how much he scared Alfred.

He practically jumped out of his skin, though his real reaction translated into a slightly less dramatic, but far sillier high-pitched shriek and a four foot jump straight into the air.

Poor guy.

Then Tony sweeps me off my feet, very literally, and I'm the one screaming as the ground zooms away.

~o0o~

"What's going on?"

"Still fighting." says Cap.

"Still fighting." says Natasha.

"Would you stop asking? This is difficult enough as it is." mutters Clint.

"But we can't see anything!" I say, "We haven't seen anything in the past hour!"

"But you're safe for now." says Tony, "I can fly Barton over; he can babysit."

"We don't need babysitters." I huff, "Jerrrrk."

"How's Alfred?" asks Autumn.

"I'm doin' awesome, babe!" says the young man, and I can easily hear the smile in his voice, "I'm whoopin' the bad guys."

"That reminds me; what are they? Aliens again?"

"Yeah, yeah, they're, like, Loki magic people."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." says Alfred, panting, "An' they squish."

"Ew." Autumn and I say, our faces scrunching up.

"Are there unicorns?"

"Unicorns again?"

"What?" I grin, "Aliens exist; why not unicorns?"

"Why would we be fighting unicorns?"

"Heck, that's my question." I giggle.

"Look out!"

"What happened, what happened!?" I shriek.

Some 'gun' shots rang and there were some grunts.

"IS ANYONE DEAD!?"

Ò0Ó AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

"No, not yet." heaves Alfred, "Nope, I'm wrong; my hand, my hand is dead. OHHHHHHHHHHMYGOSHHHHHH."

I look at Autumn, who looks half scared and half annoyed.

"Captain, is he okay?" she asks.

"Bleeding, but yes, he's all right." replies Steve, "It's just a scrape."

"Ohmygosh, Cap is touching my hand."

PFFFFFFFF-

What a fanboy.

~o0o~

"You're right."

"Huh?" I look at Clint, who did end up being dropped off by Tony.

I am twenty three years old; I DON'T NEED A BABYSIT-

"This is really, really boring. Nothing's going on."

"Yyyyeah, uh-huh, I told you that an hour ago."

"Uh-huh."

With a wide yawn, I glance over the New York horizon, noting with dismay that the sky is streaking with yellow and orange. The fight has lasted the whole afternoon.

"Hey, Alfred, how ya holding up?"

Panting is the answer I get.

"Not good, huh?"

A slight whimper.

"Tony, how's he doing?"

"Only slightly better than he sounds."

"Good grief."

Autumn sighs heavily and shifts against the cement roof. "Could someone just bring us home?"

"Sorry, can't spare any hands." replies Captain, "If Fury was here..."

"Well, he isn't!" snaps Autumn.

"Yep, noticed that." grunts Tony, "Favor to ask, girls. Please just shut up."

"So kind." I mutter, "But of course. Jarvis, keep us posted?"

"Of course, miss. I wouldn't dream of anything less."

"Good, good." I reply, stretching, then tugging my button up shirt down neatly. I had figured that dressing nicely was a good idea. I mean, meeting the Avengers is not your every day meeting.

o^o

But the high heels are hurting, the dressy slacks don't fit quite right (Francis says they do, but I really don't think so), and the shirt is incredibly restricting.

Hggg.

But, just as I thought my personal troubles couldn't get worse, I hear a massive explosion, then a goosebump-raising crunch.

Then the building upon which we stand begins to crumble and I find myself falling among huge chunks of cement and steel to the ground, twenty-five stories away.


	3. Chapter 3

_**oh yeah, and, despite my impeccable writing skills and my flawless interpretation of the Avengers and the Hetalians, i don't actually own either of them. Surprise! :DDDD**_

"Daddy?" My voice sounds distant.

"Hey, pumpkin." So does his.

"Daddy?" As my thoughts clear, so does the image of my father. I shake the wooziness away, but everything feels sluggish and muted.

He's standing in front of me, hands on his hips, his face angry and harsh.

"Oh, Daddy, don't start with me."

"You're so judgemental! Hypocritical and biased. The Bible says not to judge."

"Obviously. I'm not being judgemental. I haven't even said anything."

"No, no, not in this house."

"Emily?"

"I have spent twenty-five years fighting for my faith, fighting for my faith, fighting! FIGHTING!" she yells, "I'm not about to let you pick it apart."

I take in a huge gasp, consciousness pulling me out of the nightmare, and I gulp for air though all I get is dust, dirt, and pain. My eyes open slowly and I shift , my limbs lethargic and shocked, dust showering from my clothes.

"Jade! Jade! You're all right? Guys, she's alive! Tony, To- Oh my gosh." That would be Clint running to my aid. As I fully wake up, the distant sounding explosions ring in my ears and sirens wail in distress.

"Huh?" I groan, sitting up and regretting it immediately. My head swims and throbs and I really have half a mind to crack a joke about how alive I really was, though my sarcasm decided to take the rest of the day off.

"Guys, she's an enhanced."

"Enhanced!?" questions Cap.

"What happened?" I mutter, looking around at the rubble, "Ohhh, yeah..." One corner of the skyscraper had broken off, leaving Autumn and Clint safe on the roof. They obviously were able to get down, because they're both standing next to me, generally freaking out.

"She's enhanced? What do you mean, enhanced?" snaps Arthur.

"She's glowing!"

" 'She' is right here and I am NOT glowi-" I look down at myself.

And I am, indeed, glowing.

Well, my hands are.

Very brightly.

And purple-ly.

"Is this why I'm not dead!?" I demand, and I begin to freak out, too, "Why am I glowing!? Make it stop! Tony, if this is your stupid idea of a prank-! I don't want to glow, I don't want...I-I don't..."

"Easy, easy. There you go, easy now..."

And with Clint's arm encircling my shoulders, my vision fades to darkness and my nightmare doesn't even bother returning.

~o0o~

I wake up in the Avengers' tower, Dummy looming over me with a camera.

"And she's up. Jarvis, how's she doing?" asks Tony, revealing that the camera was a live feed, as it ought to be.

"Miss Connaster is doing extremely well, sir. Her vitals are higher than normal, but I suspect that they will be normal for her." remarks Jarvis.

"Meaning?" prods Tony.

"She has the ability to warp gravity, sir. She can solidify thin air at will."

"Pretty cool, 'Miss Connaster'." says Alfred, "Why can't I have superpowers!? So unfair."

"You _are_ a superpower." I remind him, slipping the sounding earpiece back in and turning the volume way down.

"Oh yeah."

"But really, superpowers? Jarvis, what the heck are you talking about?"

"Again, miss, you can solidify thin air." repeats the program.

"Nope, not me." I say, "I'm just me-"

I lift my hand, aiming to get up, and, lo and behold, BAM!

There goes Dummy, skidding across the floor with a mechanical squeal.

I lift my other hand cautiously and BAM!

The glass in the huge window shatters as a purple orb glimmers through it.

"Oh, crap. Oh, nuts, that's me?" I cry, sitting up, and I blow a hole in the wall before me without even lifting my hands toward it.

"Yes, miss."

"What, what happened?" asks Alfred.

"Just bust Tony's window."

"Again? Aw, come on!" cries Tony, "First Loki, then Banner, now you?"

"And your wall." I say quickly, and I see my hands shaking, "And your robot. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to." I ball my hands into fists, and they glow purple.

AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

0_0

Nope, nope, nope, none of this, NUH-UH!

NO.

THANK.

YOU.

I unfurl my fingers, dreading the worst.

Nothing happens.

SURE, OF COURSE NOTHING HAPPENS.

OHMYGOSHWHY.

With the plethora of machines hovering tensely around me to monitor my conditions, and the camera giving Tony a live feed, and the weirdness happening in my body, the fear mounts and my throat tightens. Tears gather in my eyes, though, at the moment, I'm feeling more sarcastic than self-piteous.

"Don't worry, Miss Connaster, your body is coping with a very large amount of physical stress. Remember, you did fall two hundred and fifty-three feet and seven inches a couple hours ago."

"Yes, I remember." I say softly, and suddenly a pair of arms wrap around me, "Oh, Autumn. Good grief, you surprised me."

But that pair of arms goes ballistic, and she yanks me off the bed without so much as a grunt.

And though I'm far thinner than I used to be, I am not as thin as she.

It must've taken one heck of an effort for her to do that!

O.O

Anyhow, I fall harshly to the floor, the air in my lungs leaving in a huff. A piece of glass from Tony's broken window cuts into the meat of my palm as I move to stand, and I grit my teeth, anger and a deep feeling of betrayal rising up within me.

"What the heck, Autumn!" Tears drip down my cheeks, but I can see her, her features angrier than ever, and when she speaks, it sends shivers down my spine.

"I thought you were dead!" she screams, and then I scream, because she lunges toward me, her anger liberated and brutal.

I raise my arms to cover my head before crouching into a ball, bracing myself for impact.

Funny thing happens next.

I _do_ feel the impact.

But I hear a hollow clunk and look up to see that she jumped straight into a purple shield.

MY purple shield.

OHMYGOSH.

"OHMYGOSH, AUTUMN, ARE YOU ALIVE!?" I cry, and I jump up to go to her aid.

OBVIOUSLY SHE DOESN'T NEED IT!

Because she replies with a bolt of liGHTING THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND IT FREAKS ME OUT.

Obviously.

The lights in the building flickers and shakes and her electric charge catches my leg, sending me back to the floor.

"If I scared you by almost dying, why are you trying to kill me!?" I scream at her, panicking helplessly at the electrocution, "Are you nuts!?" The paralyzing charge lets up and I gasp in relief.

"I'm not trying to kill you." she says, and I roll my eyes.

"Uh-huh, yeah, sure!" I snap.

"I'm just taking my anger out on you."

"GO DO THAT TO BANNER IF YOU HAVE TO, OH MY GOSH, SO MEAN!" I screech, "He can take it!"

"And you can now, too." she replies.

"Just go away and think about your life!" I cry, and a purple disk shoots from my hand in the direction of the elevator that I brilliantly motioned toward, and the doors dent inward, "OH CRAP."

"What if I say no?"

"I said go away!" I shriek, and I scramble to my feet, "Tony, are you hearing any of this? Jarvis?"

"I took 'em out when I shocked you." says Autumn, a smile unsuited to her pretty face marring it, "No more flirting with Mister Stark or conversating with Jarvis."

" 'Conversating'? Has your vocabulary deteriorated along with your sanity!? Oh, my poor Autumn." I hurl my hands toward her, hoping for more purple.

And, of course, I get none.

Good grief.

And then Autumn powers up again, and I can see the air surrounding her waver and warp as electricity crackles from her skin.

"What happened to you?"

"The superhero cliche. I was scared for my best friend and motivated by fear and regret. I only cared about getting to you. A wire in the building was live. Clint was far ahead of me, and I, being the klutz to end klutziness, fell smack on top of it. Instead of going straight off to heaven, my body was filled with energy, like a battery, and then here we are."

"God certainly was looking out for you."

"Mm-hm."

"Are you still gonna try to kill me?"

"I already told you, I'm not trying-"

"To kill her, yes." says Tony, his voice ringing as it does from within his suit, "Jarvis told me." And he shoots a tranquilizer into my best friend's neck.

Such a movie move.

She spins around, aiming to strike the metal man from the sky, but the sedative takes effect almost immediately, and she falters, her lighting bolt lashing at the air but missing the target.

I'm too far from her to catch her, but I reach out and, WHADDAYA KNOW, there go my purple things to gently lower her to the floor, contouring around the curves of her body, fitting against her like a glove.

"Looks like I got here just in time."

"No, really?" I say, covering my face, "You're, what, two floors beneath this one?"

"The suit needed repairs."

"Like you don't have backups."

"Sorry." says the billionaire sheepishly.

"But did she actually take out Jarvis and you?"

"Jarvis is a program, so no. She just got rid of the electricity in the whole tower. That's why I took so long; actually needed Thor to give us a pick-me-up." Tony lands in the room, and clonks over to Autumn, "Two lightning geeks, what fun." He lifts her carefully, and I heave a sigh.

"What next?" I ask.

"We go downstairs, strap her down, run some tests like we did with you."

"Huh." I nod, "Can I hitch a ride?"

"Don't have enough power yet. You can try your new superpower out."

"I can hardly do anything with it!" I cry indignantly, and I accidentally give the smooth cement floor craters.

Good grief, when will it end?


End file.
